All the pomp but none of the national piety of 1932

Close your eyes and the Gregorian chants from the heavenly-sounding massed choirs at the opening ceremony of the International Eucharistic Congress could easily transport you back to the last staging of the event in Ireland 80 years ago.

The famed 1932 congress, whose final Mass was attended by one million people in the Phoenix Park, has proven over time to have been a high watermark for the Catholic Church in Ireland.

Open your eyes and fast forward eight decades and the scene at the RDS in Ballsbridge for yesterday’s opening ceremony provided a stark contrast.

The smell of incense may still fill the air and the serried rows of priests in their clerical robes, including 40 cardinals at the front of the arena, create an impressive sight, but there the comparisons largely end.

The Congress of 1932 was a major national event which dominated public discourse for weeks before and after; the 2012 version will struggle to dominate headlines when pitched against the national soccer team.

While the Church’s hierarchy — both in the Vatican and Ireland — fervently hope that some of the devotion and pride demonstrated by Irish Catholics in their faith in 1932 could be recaptured with the re-staging of the Congress here, they readily acknowledge that it is an uphill battle.

Brilliant sunshine, joyous singing and a beautifully-choreographed, colourful ceremony which culminated in a celebration of the Eucharist still could not hide the fact that the attendance was roughly half of the 20,000 pilgrims anticipated by the organisers.

But Archbishop Diarmuid Martin wisely dismissed the importance of numbers by pointing out that the main focus of the week-long event was the renewal of the Church in Ireland after its darkest period.

Cardinal Sean Brady, who was the target of the ire of at least one group of protesters outside yesterday’s ceremony, maintained a low profile, although he took his place on the main altar and welcomed participants from his own Archdiocese of Armagh.

Outside in the wider world, there remains pockets of hope in a cynical, disinterested population.

Dotted among the multitude of Tricolours and green, white and orange bunting adorning houses all around Dublin over the weekend, there were a few homes proudly besporting flags with the papal colours of yellow and white.

To liken the International Eucharistic Congress to another of the summer’s big sporting events — the Olympic Games — might seem facile, indeed sacrilegious to some, but the parallels are real and genuine.

Even the organisers admit in their own publicity material that the Congress Bell which has toured all the dioceses of Ireland as part of a countdown to this week’s events that it is akin to the Olympic Torch through its use as a rallying cry to the faithful to gather in Dublin.

Held once every four years and attracting thousands of pilgrims from all over the world, the Congress is all about participation in what might unkindly be regarded as a busman’s holiday for Catholics.

To that end, the RDS has been transformed into a Christian village which will act as a home-from-home for many of the pilgrims who have descended on Dublin

However, the “lost and found” section in the Simmonscourt arena might be of greater use to local Catholics than their overseas counterparts.